Public schools in Aiken, SC

Aiken has 17 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 4 high, 4 middle, 8 elementary, 1 other, enrolling 10,769 students. They are run by 3 districts and agencies; Aiken 01 runs 15 of them.

NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method

The 3 districts and agencies that run Aiken's public schools

Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.

DistrictSchools in AikenDistrict students, fall 2022Spending per student, FY23
Aiken 011523,181$11,967
Limestone Charters Association11,888not reported
South Carolina Public Charter School District117,601$23,863

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: school location city and operating agency; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: district fall membership and current spending per student. Schools on a city's edge can serve students from outside it.

4 high schools in Aiken, 3,378 students

SchoolStudents 2024‑25Per teacherFree lunchDistrict
South Aiken High1,34916.938.6%Aiken 01
Aiken High1,09714.1100.0%Aiken 01
Silver Bluff High75615.862.1%Aiken 01
Aiken Scholars Academy17625.114.3%Aiken 01

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.

4 middle schools in Aiken, 1,808 students

SchoolStudents 2024‑25Per teacherFree lunchDistrict
M. B. Kennedy Middle64319.047.3%Aiken 01
Aiken Intermediate42716.7100.0%Aiken 01
Tall Pines STEM Academy38215.39.7%South Carolina Public Charter
Schofield Middle35613.7100.0%Aiken 01

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.

8 elementary schools in Aiken, 4,191 students

SchoolStudents 2024‑25Per teacherFree lunchDistrict
Millbrook Elementary66414.035.4%Aiken 01
Redcliffe Elementary58815.3100.0%Aiken 01
Chukker Creek Elementary57814.228.3%Aiken 01
East Aiken School of the Arts53413.7100.0%Aiken 01
Aiken Elementary50814.1100.0%Aiken 01
J. D. Lever Elementary45212.6100.0%Aiken 01
North Aiken Elementary44012.6100.0%Aiken 01
Oakwood-Windsor Elementary42712.9100.0%Aiken 01

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.

One other school in Aiken, 1,392 students

SchoolStudents 2024‑25Per teacherFree lunchDistrict
Horse Creek Academy1,39212.5not reportedLimestone Charters Association

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.

How Aiken's public schools compare with South Carolina's

The median Aiken school has 14.1 students per full-time teacher, about the same as the South Carolina median of 13.8. 69% of its schools ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, against 50% across the state. Its median school enrolls 534 students (state 554).

Aiken against South Carolina, schools open in 2024-25 with students
AikenSouth Carolina
Median students per teacher14.113.8
Median school size (students)534554
Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22)69%50%
Schools where every student eats free (CEP)53%54%
Charter schools12%6.5%

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 17 Aiken schools and the 1,183 South Carolina schools open that year with students); Title I status CCD 2021-22. Students per teacher counts 2024-25 teachers and ratios from 3 to 99.

What to look at next in Aiken

  1. Aiken 01Runs 15 of Aiken's 17 public schools and spent $11,967 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$11,967
  2. South Aiken High, the largest high school in Aiken1,349 students in 2024-25, 16.9 per teacher.1,349
  3. Compare Aiken 01 with Limestone Charters AssociationAiken's two largest operators side by side: enrollment, spending and schools.
  4. The largest public schools in South CarolinaSouth Carolina's 50 largest schools open in 2024-25, by enrollment.
  5. Find the school district for an Aiken addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools and their operating agencies); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student).

Choosing among them: how to choose a school district with the federal data, and what a Title I school is.

Other cities in South Carolina

  1. Columbia74 schools
  2. Greenville49 schools
  3. Charleston31 schools
  4. North Charleston29 schools
  5. Spartanburg28 schools
  6. Rock Hill26 schools
  7. Summerville26 schools
  8. Myrtle Beach25 schools

Questions about schools in Aiken

  1. How many public schools are in Aiken, SC?
    17 public schools with an address in Aiken were open in 2024-25: 4 high, 4 middle, 8 elementary, 1 other, enrolling 10,769 students. 2 are charter schools.
  2. What is the largest high school in Aiken?
    South Aiken High, with 1,349 students in 2024-25 (Aiken 01).
  3. Which districts run Aiken's schools?
    Aiken 01 (15 schools), Limestone Charters Association (1 school), South Carolina Public Charter School District (1 school). A school's district, not its city, decides who can enroll.

These figures are for information and are not a substitute for the district's enrollment office, which confirms the school a home is assigned to.

Sources

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Public school search (the official record of each school) · 2024-25

Compiled from official source data by .